Vista Tutorial - NTFS Compression - Disable or Enable

Information

NTFS Compression allows you to save some hard drive space by compressing files and folders to reduce their size. Compression is enabled by default in Vista. If you disable compression, no user account will be able to compress a folder or file until it is enabled again.

NOTE

This is not the same as the built-in ZIP (Compressed Folders) feature in Vista.

• How to Disable or Enable Encryption in Vista
• How to Compress and Decompress a Folder or File with NTFS Compression in Vista

1. To Disable NTFS Compression -

A) Click on the download button below to download the Disable_NTFS_Compression.reg file.

B) Go to step 3.

2. To Enable NTFS Compression -

A) Click on the download button below to download the Enable_NTFS_Compression.reg file.

3. Click on Save, and save the .reg file to the Desktop.

4. Right click on the .reg (On Desktop) file and click on Merge.

5. Click on Run in the Security Warning pop-up.

6. Click on Continue (UAC), Yes, and then OK when prompted.

7. Restart the computer to apply the changes.

8. You can delete the .reg file (On Desktop) when done.

1. Open the Start Menu.

2. In the white line (Start Search) area, type regedit and press Enter.

3. Click on Continue in the UAC prompt.

4. In regedit, go to: (See screenshot below step 5)
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\FileSystem

5. In the right pane, right click on NtfsDisableCompression and click on Modify.

6. To Disable NTFS Compression -

A) Type 1 and click on OK. (See screenshot below step 7)

B) Go to step 8.

7. To Enable NTFS Compression -

A) Type 0 (number zero) and click on OK.

8. Close regedit.

9. Restart the computer to apply the changes.